Fourth Wall

Ah, the sweet smell of startup comics. With a complete archive of 39 comics, Fourth Wall falls firmly in the “new comic” zone, so let me say that it is my great honor to bring you yaddah yaddah yah. I found out about FW through Twitter, which has become my main source of information of late… /sigh.

Fourth Wall is a gaming comic with a heavy focus on WoW. Fill in the blanks.

Okay, that’s not fair. Well, it is, but it’s not the whole picture. As I’ve said again and again and again and again and again, gaming comics are all the same, it just depends on how well they are done. And, in this humble critic’s opinion, Fourth Wall is pretty good.

It actually reminds me of Complex Actions in more way than one. A mixture of “real life” comics and in-game jokes, all prone to hyperbole and self-deprecating humor, it all rings familiar… in a good way.

Of course, the ever-present question for these comics is whether it is accessible to those that don’t play the game. My response: probably. Looking back through the archive, the average comic doesn’t require any pre-knowledge. It might help, yes, but it’s not like Daily Quests or the like, where it’s a requirement (Not that it’s a bad thing, DQ)!

As for the plot, well, there isn’t any. Not that I expect one, these kinds of comics are usually hindered anything more than “in jokes”. Character development, backstories, all of these things aren’t necessary, as the characters are simply there as puppets to tell a story. Of course, dynamic characters could come into play later on, but that would require a plot arc and rinse wash repeat.

I have one thing to say about the art: it may not be incredibly detailed, but the set-up is well done. The characters and backdrops are mostly simplistic, but it doesn’t detract from the comic. What is does do is give clarity to what the hell is going on. They’re a little wordy occasionally, but only occasionally. As for the rest of the art, well, remember why I have Rule 3. It’s not bad, I’m just not really qualified to call it “good”.

As always for “new” comics, I won’t comment too much on Fourth Wall. What does it look like for the future? Well, I’ve gone over that process before, so I won’t repeat myself. Although, it is a good sign that they have found a reasonable update schedule and stuck with it so far, because those of you without one have no idea how difficult that is. If they are dedicated enough to keep it up, then I bet they will go far.

In all, I’ve enjoyed Fourth Wall, and I hope that the creators stick with it. If you see my name pop up in the comments as soon as the comics go up, well, blame Twitter and my erratic sleep schedule. I’m getting on a tangent; take my word at face value for once and give Fourth Wall a shot. All gaming comics are dependent on your tastes, but it’s worth sampling.